h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was approaced by a UK MLM company, who I won't mention but I'm sure many people know who they are.

A couple of friends tried to get me in on it. Luckily, for them, they had not bought any stock yet, so after a little bit of research, and after I gave them a few details I had uncovered, they got out quickly, and didn't lose money.

MLM's work great if you are at the top of the pyramid, because you have a large base of people working for you, but there are so many drawbacks...

1. The people lower down the pyramid are usually amateurs, and don't know too much, because they have not asked the right questions of the level above them. This makes it every so difficult to trace the top levels of the pyramid. It also lets the people at the top hide, should they want to, both from angry customers, sellers, and law enforcement agencies.

2. If the stuff is 'not available in the shops', why doesn't anybody ever ask 'Why?' - Is it really _that_bad_?

3. If, by some truly bizarre coincedence, you are successful at the lower levels of MLM, how do you handle such trivial things as P.A.Y.E. (That's income tax for you foreign folk), National Insurance contributions (Social security), and the ever-so-important public liability insurance. Most of these MLM companies sell cleaning products; are you indeminified in case these products from an unknown manufacturer turn out to release poisonous fumes?

4. How many well known, repected, law abiding multi-level-marketing companies do you know?

When I was "approached" by an MLM company that was trying to get me involved, I went along for the ride because their presentation involved a free coach trip to London and a seminar room in the Hilton Hotel.

I knew (because at the time I was poor and the bank had cancelled my entitlement to credit cards)I couldn't put up any money in advance even if I wanted to, so I could afford to lean back and be cynical and enjoy the day out...

Apparently the product was a miracle health drink that cured everything (oh yeah?)and I had to invest in a min. £500 worth of stock to then sell on and network through friends and family (I want to keep my friends, thanks, and I value my family more than that)

After a couple of interminable presentations that had "SNAKE OIL" written all over them, I got to the front of the hall where gullible investors were already handing over their hard-earned.

I managed to get a container of the Product in my hands and was turning it over looking for the ingredient list; one of the women in the organising party glared at me and pulled the bottle out of my hands and asked if I intended to buy. I said I'd quite like a look at the ingredients and the small print on the label first, and pointedly picked up another. I wasn't impressed, as it only had a very rudinmentary ingredient listing on it - nothing comparable with british law. This second bottle got plucked from my hands after a bit of waving it around; I wondered if I should try my luck with a third, but Mrs Hardface behind the table seemed keen on fingering me as a trouble maker. I said "Look, before I buy I need to see what it IS. Do you really expect me to shell out £500 unseen?" Evidently yes.

Anyway, I'd worked out that the Product did not comply with British food labelling regulation, maybe because the company making it claimed a main base in the Bahamas - so their labelling and ingredients met the requirements of West Indian food legislation? (as well as being based in a tax haven - another such firm I had similar dealings with was based in the Channel Islands)

I weasn't worried about being thrown out: I could doss over with people I knew in London and make my own way back to Norwich later- ao I aasked a few awkward questions and got squirming evasive answers.

But this was VERY much multi-marketing in operation - the £500 would go to my "sponsor" at the next level up who would provide me with £500 worth of Product (£500 worth of coloured water and diluted fruit juices?)

Forget it... amazingly enough I still got a coach ride home (apparently it's illegal for them to take you to a presentation and then leave you stranded, regardless of how big a pain in the bum you are)

If you have the details on this, it would certainly capture the attention of the Watchdog team, if not one of the other BBC consumer affairs programmes. Have you considered forwarding details to them.

Such breaches of UK foodstuff labelling requirements (and possibly several interesting infringments of pharmaceutical laws) should, if not reported to Watchdog, certainly be handed to your local trading standards department. They are in a better position to determine legality than I am (not being a lawyer), and (assuming you are also not a lawyer) you are.

You can find watchdog at bbc.co.uk/watchdog ; follow the link to Watchdog Reports for the 'contact us' button.

(PS, I'm not with the BBC, nor watchdog.)